Gray Areas
by ManeStella
Summary: Takes place after 3x06 ("Ariel"). Emma, unable to sleep removes herself from the group, as she begins to worry over thier trials, Regina appears to unexpectedly comfort her but instead leaves her more confused than ever. One shot. SwanQueen.


**a/n:** Okay so I started this awhile back for a writing challenge (and because SwanQueen is my ultimate OTP of OTPs) and I finally finished it because yes. It takes place just after 3x06 "Ariel" where they rescue Neal, but before the following episodes. This is just a oneshot.

* * *

Long after the other members of their rag tag rescue team had drifted into a restless sleep, Emma sat awake. Unable to let sleep take her, she fidgeted and turned in her bedroll until finally throwing off the sad rags she used for covering and stalked off to the edge of their camp, after wondering around for a bit hoping to tire herself out, she sat down decidedly on a rather large rock. Now she sat systematically switching between starring down at her hands and up to the starry sky above.

She had done magic.

Without any prompting.

Just done it.

Saving both Neal and Hook from their own stupidity.

If it weren't for Regina's being so adamant about her learning magic, she would never have been able to save them, she would have lost her first love, the father of her son for the third and final time. If they hadn't acquired Pan's shadow she probably would have lost hope for any possibility they had of saving Henry.

Henry…

With every day that passed, every hour, every minute of precious time lost, Henry was slowly being sucked into Pan's hideous scheme, whatever it was. Her hope was slipping away. Emma's hands started to shake and suddenly it became difficult to breathe. After all that time of not having a place to belong, she had finally found somewhere she couldn't, wouldn't leave, somewhere she wanted to be, and people she wanted to be with and it was all slipping from her grasp, just like every time before. She felt, not for the first time since setting foot on this god forsaken island, like the lost girl she had been many years ago, and apparently still was according to that little shit Pan and his map. What if they failed? What if they didn't get to Henry in time? What did Pan mean about how Henry would feel? Would Henry hate them? Hate her? What if-

The sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs had Emma jumping up and whipping around to the sound, automatically drawing her blade.

Appearing from the jungle was none other than Regina; hands lifted in surrender, with a raised eyebrow and lips quirked in annoyance, "Settle down, musketeer. It's only me."

Emma relaxed and let the sword arm drop to her side, "Only the Evil Queen."

A flash of something…something akin to shame flashed across the woman's face, but disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

"I see you found him."

She must have come through their camp first before finding Emma. There was no need to say his name, they both knew who "he" was. To Emma's surprise not an ounce of that usual biting sarcasm was in Regina's tone. The blonde merely nodded in reply even though it wasn't a question. There was no way she was going to talk about her dynamic with Neal, especially not with Regina. The woman who…what was Regina to her now? They weren't exactly enemies, but they weren't necessarily friends either.

"You came back." Emma said to offer a change in conversation.

"Just a little check up, dear. It would be unfortunate if you all ended up in some dark pit somewhere when you may perhaps be of use in the near future."

Emma sighed and plopped back down on the rock. Regina moved three feet or so closer, but remained a safe distance away from the other woman, her arms crossed in front of her. How many barriers, physical and emotional, did the queen keep up around herself? Maybe more than Emma herself.

"Does that mean you've made progress with…whatever you're doing?"

Regina smirked then, "Yes, actually. Gold and I have devised a nice plan to teach that little shit, Pan a lesson once and for all." Emma nearly smiled in bemusement, she had just mentally called Pan the same thing, but she held it in because Regina was getting that bone chilling "Evil Queen" look again.

If Emma was completely honest, she used to find that menacing look of hers rather alluring. It had pissed her off in equal amounts though.

"I guess we can always count on the villains."

"Oh that's because we're not a bunch of pussies, dear. Unlike _others_ who aren't willing to dirty their own hands." The emphasis of course implied that she was referring to the Charmings. Emma rolled her eyes; she didn't feel like dealing with this blood feud shit again.

The blond pushed herself up off the rock, exasperated, "You are such a bitch."

There was a moment of silence, and in that timespan Emma worried that she might have ignited that flaming anger in Regina, one that would burn her up. Instead Regina flung her head back and laughed heartily, surprising Emma so much that she couldn't help but burst into laughter herself. It was the kind of laughter that comes when nerves are rubbed raw, when even the simplest, stupidest thing becomes hysterical. They couldn't stop laughing. Emma was bent over, hands on her knees cracking up, Regina holding her ribs from the pain of the laughter, they were beginning to come down from it when Emma snorted and the cackling and howling started all over again, Emma tried to stand up, but instead lost her balance and fell forward, still laughing, Regina caught her arm to hold her up. After a few more moments the giggling began to subside, leaving the two women smiling at each other, Emma still holding onto the other for balance.

Then their smiles began to fade.

Regina moved just a bit closer.

Emma mimicked the movement.

Hands moved up arms, grasping blue fabric.

Hands up pale shoulders, into blond hair.

Their lips met, it was no delicate kiss, no timid trial, no they were at war suddenly, bruising kisses, needy tugs, a breathy gasp here, a groan there, and then tongues slipped into mouths, Regina felt hands slide down her sides and come around to feel her ass, the elder pulled Emma closer by the collar of her shirt.

Finally they separated, chests rising and falling as they desperately gulped in air. Regina's dark lipstick smeared across the side of her face, and across Emma's lips. The younger reached up to rub a bit off of Regina's face with her thumb, and after a moment the queen gently took hold of her wrist and wiped the rest off with, wait what the hell where did she get another handkerchief?! Emma dropped her hand as the other woman proceeded wiping off Emma's face as well. They said nothing. It was strangely the most comforting thing she had felt in days. So unlike her mother's nagging care or her father's overprotectiveness or Hook's never ending sexual advances. It was such domesticity in such a maddening situation. She stepped a bit closer and leaned into Regina, laying her head on the woman's exposed chest and began to cry.

First in shock, Regina stood still, not used to anyone other than Henry crying on her, but then she slowly brought her arms around the younger woman, reassuringly petting messy blond hair.

How the hell had they come to this? Months of wanting to tear each other limb from limb to sucking face like horny teenagers to holding each other. Every single reflex to lash out, every wall she had carefully constructed seemed to be dashed into nothing because of damnable Emma Swan.

The elder let out a sight, "Emma, we will get Henry back."

"How? It just all seems so hopeless. What if he gives into Pan's plan for him and becomes a lost boy?" She said without looking up at the other woman.

Regina looked up at the sky, still holing Emma to her, "Henry won't give in. He's strong, he's our son."

She nodded, shifting to let her arms encircle Regina's waist.

They stood there like that in silence for some time until finally, Emma spoke up, "I've always kinda thought you were hot." She admitted.

Chuckling, Regina pushed back a lock of hair from the younger's face, "As you should, dear." Emma chuckled as well, then kissed at the collarbone already against her lips, causing a shiver to course through Regina's body. Emma kissed there again. And again. And began to ascend with her kisses, up her would be nemeses' neck, eliciting a gasp from her.

This was an escape, she told herself as she licked over the spot just below Regina's ear. This was a reprieve, a way to let go of all the stress that was weighing on her. Just like when she kissed Hook.

Regina's hands slipped back into dyed blonde hair, but this time they were pulling and twisting as the elder woman lightly moaned. "Don't start something you can't finish, Emma."

"Oh," Emma said, her voice low against Regina's ear, "I'll do more than just finish it." She brought her hand up the brunette's body to kneed her breast, the queen gasping as she did so.

"Don't fuck with me." Regina nearly growled, giving Emma's hair a hard tug.

The supposed savior let out something like a yowl, "I just might." She said through clenched teeth and then roughly grabbed Regina's shoulders and shoved her back against a nearby tree, pinning her there as the queen hissed in pain.

Emma's stomach did a flip when Regina flashed her a predatory smile and snaked a tongue across her lower lip, "You really don't know who you're dealing with, dear." She twisted her hand out of the blonde's grasp and waved it, a magical blast flinging Emma to the ground, she could feel the sticks and small rocks digging into her shoulder blades and screwed her eyes shut in pain. Like all of their fights in the past, verbal sparring and physical blows, this was actually turning her on.

The queen sauntered over to Emma and slung a leg over her body, then lowered herself to straddle the daughter of the woman she hated, "You might have been unaware, but I'm a rather skilled rider," Regina said, rolling her hips against the woman beneath her, Emma groaned. "Good with a whip and crop too." She ran her hands up the younger's body, gliding them over the other woman's neck and then back down to quickly grasp her wrists and hold them to the ground with splayed out blond hair between.

Wow Regina got real kinky real fast. She had always said weird, teasing things like that, if she recalled correctly. Emma's mind flashed to the time the mayor had appeared at her door after her fist night in Storybrook at the inn to offer her apples and the time she walked into the sheriff's station to find Regina sitting on the desk saying that she had a confession to make, it was like the god damn opening of a porno. Their fights always got real physical real fast too.

Instead of fighting back, Emma surprised the elder woman by thrusting up against her, and when her grip loosened the blonde grabbed Regina's waist and rolled her over, smashing their lips together before the previous mayor of Storybrook could react.

"God Emma…" Regina moaned as the younger ground their hips together, "Just fuck me already."

Seeing Regina like this, hearing her beg to be fucked…it was…god it was almost enough to make her come. Emma didn't hesitate to oblige, and shoved her hand down the elder woman's pants, slipping past her silk underwear. Of course it would be silk. Regina was fabulous and fancy down to the undergarments. How the hell did she even stay preened and powdered in the middle of a jungle? Regina's hands shot up to find something to grab, settling on Emma's shirt that hung loosely off her muscular frame.

She twisted the gray fabric in her hands as Emma fucked her mercilessly. With all that sexual tension that had been building up since she'd come to Storybrook, she didn't feel the need to ease into this, all the times she'd wanted to walk around that marble desk in Regina's pristine black and white upper class office and fuck the smugness off her face, all of those times Regina's eyes had roamed down her body and left her feeling exposed. The woman was like walking, talking, sassing, sex appeal.

When Emma started to feel Regina tighten around her fingers, she gave one last hard shove of her hand, curling them upward.

Regina screamed, threw here head back and screamed.

Emma knew she would repeat that memory over and over in her mind for many future lonely nights that were to come after escaping this hellhole. Her arm hurting and her hand cramping up, the sheriff rolled off of Regina and laid next to her on the ground as the elder woman struggled to regulate her breathing.

Looking over at the other woman, Emma watched as she lay there, chest heaving, eyes closed, a bit of smeared lipstick still on her mouth, her hair a mess. Regina was the most beautiful person she had ever met.

Finally, after she had calmed down, the exiled queen looked over at Emma who was still watching her intently and she smiled softly, propping herself up on one arm and leaned over to kiss Emma lightly on the lips.

Emma seemed to melt against it. The kiss so very unlike Regina's usual nasty attitude. It was almost…no, it wasn't like that, their relationship, whatever it was, wasn't like that. But when she pulled away only seconds later the moment was gone, the previous tenderness winking out of existence as Regina stood and brushed herself off, she waved both arms out around her and a purple haze of smoke covered her, when it dissipated Regina was clean, her clothes straightened, makeup freshly applied, and her hair back to its usual perfection.

So that's how she did it.

In contrast to Regina's grace, Emma pushed herself off the ground and patted away the leaves and dirt sticking to her clothes and an a hand through her hair in a sad attempt to straighten it out, "Maybe you could teach me how to do that soon?" She said, nodding towards the tanner woman, implying that she meant the clean up routine.

Regina smirked, "With the rate you're progressing? It would take a century at least."

Emma smiled, shaking her head at the ground. They stood there together, in awkward silence.

"So, uh…I guess I should get back to camp and you…"

"I'll see you around."

The slight smile that had been on her lips dropped. "Yeah…"

Without another word, she watched Regina turn on her heal and disappear into the underbrush, like walking out on a one-night stand.

It had been a one-night stand, Emma reminded herself.

But there was that sinking feeling she couldn't shake.

And that gentle kiss and soft smile Regina had given her that she shouldn't be remembering.

Somberly, Emma made her way back to camp. The sky now a light gray, sunrise not far off now.

That's where she always seemed to be stuck in.

The gray areas.


End file.
